Nanuq

So YOU'RE the one that sold $16B of Proctor and Gamble (to pay for it!) Edit: I just ruined my keyboard drooling over your photos. Wow, what a looker. Well done!

Pretty nice! The "minute" tick marks are pretty long, but there are lots of good details there.

Sweeeeeeet! One of my favorites. My B&R Mod Morphing Monster says hi from Alaska!

Takk Gran, og samme til deg! Her er min "IR" bilde fra sist helg, at "ikke IR" lavine og MTB tur i fjellet.

Flames? While I don't have any AR, I've got plenty of IR (infrared) going on... Does this count?

I was discussing a joke on a math forum, and stumbled across the most perfect explanation I have ever seen for the Fibonacci sequence. In case anybody has been losing sleep over it? Okay, whatever. Here it is. Prepare to be awestruck and amazed! Consider two glass plates against each other. We send in a ray of light from above. This ray of light can be reflected several times within the plates before it gets out, like this: .\................/............... ..\../\........../ ...\/..\......../................. ........\../\../ .........\/..\/................... This ray of light has been reflected 5 times before getting out. We will consider the sequence of numbers of routes r(n) with n reflections. Of course r(0) = 1, that is, the ray of light can go through with no reflections in one way. Now let us count the number of possible routes that a ray of light can take inside these glass plates with one reflection: .\..../...\......../.............. ..\../.....\....../ ...\/.......\..../................ .............\../ ..............\/.................. There are 2 possible routes with 1 reflection, so r(1) = 2. Two reflections: .\.........\........\............. ..\../\.....\........\....../\ ...\/..\.....\........\..../..\... ........\.....\../\....\../....\ .........\.....\/..\....\/......\. ..........\.........\............\ There are 3 possible routes with 2 reflections, so r(2) = 3. Three reflections: .\......../.\............/..\............/... ..\../\../...\../\....../....\....../\../ ...\/..\/.....\/..\..../......\..../..\/..... ...................\../........\../ ....................\/..........\/........... .\................/...\............/... ..\....../\....../.....\........../ ...\..../..\..../.......\......../..... ....\../....\../.........\../\../ .....\/......\/...........\/..\/....... There are 5 possible routes with 3 reflections, so r(3) = 5. The sequence we find is 1, 2, 3, 5,.... How do we show that this is indeed the Fibonacci sequence, and goes on 8, 13, 21,... etc.? Suppose we want to know the number of routes with n reflections, and we do know r(n-1) and r(n-2). Suppose that for n reflections the ray of light should leave the glass plates downwards. We know there are r(n-2) routes such that the ray of light leaves downwards with n-2 reflections. These routes can be extended with a route via the middle line, and then they form all possible routes with n reflections and the last reflection in the middle line. We also know there are r(n-1) routes, so that the ray of light leaves upwards with n-1 relfections. If these are reflected back downwards, then they form all possible routes with n reflections with the last reflection in the top line. That gives that the total of possible routes with n reflections r(n) = r(n-2)+r(n-1). This is exactly Fibonacci's formula.

Wow! How about if I send you my antique MBW 1665 (complete with Maria's beer stains and cigar smoke) for another 5-hour quickie project?! Gorgeous piece, Ubi!

Hey, PeteM ... here's hoping for a speedy and complete recovery!

Better not call them TARP funds, or that's what you might be sleeping under!

Photoshop? Nope ... that is Dr. Richard Kraft of Sitka, Alaska. A whale came up beneath him, filtering seawater for krill, and must not have seen or heard him in his kayak. The good doctor paddled to safety. Interestingly, he is a dentist so the photo is now being titled "Dr. Kraft doing another routine oral examination."

Dani, the people in my life that are strongest are the ones who faced the hardest challenges. My son, for example, was born 2 months premature with bad lungs, a hole in his heart, and nerve problems. Now he is a strong Eagle Scout and he can face any challenge. He also has experience to give others that struggle, because he has already "been there". Now he is Range Director at scout camp and he mentors about 200 boys every summer. He has something to give them. Think of a tree growing in a rock on the ocean shore. It is twisted from adversity but it can stand any storm. Compare that to a tree in a meadow. Any strong wind will blow it down. You are right, that strength is what is good in humans.

TeeJay that's some tough stuff, to try to rescue some of those kind of kids. Every one of them has an open door somewhere in their life but wow is it hard to find sometimes. Did you see Gran Torino with Clint Eastwood? There's a good example. Tough to do though!

Absolutely right, TeeJay. See that look in their eyes? That's priceless. There are scout troops in every corner of every city it seems, and even if you're not the best at pitching a tent or tying knots, they'd still love to have you come see what's up. Be a merit badge counselor or lead a hike. Sing some songs and act goofy with them... you'll probably have more fun than they will! Just jump in and do it. You'll never ever regret it.

Thanks Lani, that was really good. If anyone's looking for a way to get involved in the lives of others, I can't recommend the Boy Scouts highly enough. There are lots of Special Needs kids in the ranks, and lots of boys who don't have a dad. Each of us can make a lifetime of difference and the boys would love to get to know you. Here's the top of Wolverine Peak, six of these young men made Eagle Scout. Be Prepared!

Salmon vs. polar bear polar_bear_fishing.wmv Salmon vs. orca http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDQ1GAZZk6E

Thanks for trying, R. Much appreciated. JMB? If you're willing, I'll take you up on that offer... if you'll let me do something for you in return?

Nice! How about putting that watch in a big sack of the shavings and then running it in the clothes dryer for an hour? "Run it over with a truck". Pffffffft! Who would DO such a thing?!

A DSSD? Are you kidding me?! This project is starting to sounds interesting now. Hmmmmmm......

Oh BABY don't tempt me!!

Wow, this just gets better and better! I can rebuild a carburetor with my eyes closed, I can replace a Honda Accord head gasket in 8 hours, and I can re-ring my chainsaw (the Fear of God) in 2 hours with both hands tied behind my back. I'd think I could handle a simple case tube job! Except for the part about (shudder) trimming and adjusting the stem.

Lord, I'm afraid to even respond to that one... I wonder, what to do... what to do... this is my last rep, and the only one I've kept over all the years. Remember, this one has lived through countless hockey practice sessions (just need to reset the time forward 15 minutes after each one) and innumerable Boy Scouts campouts. It's been frozen, lost, found, boiled, bashed, crushed, recrystaled, and still runs like a champ. It even has a gorgeous faded (gen) insert from a 1680. Oh, and a gen tropic-39 Superdome. Do I fix it up? Do I go all Great White with it? Do I go whole hog and do the CGs, lugholes, crown, or do I balk tradition and leave it in its glorious unaltered, completely original state? Or do I let it gently die, and shuffle off this mortal coil? While typing this I'm watching a bald eagle circling over something dead, while lesser ravens circle and attack it, pestering it mercilessly. It makes me wonder... does the mighty Maria's Best (from Maria himself) keep circling, or do the lesser PTs and Joshuas win in the end?

Thanks R, it is indeed the original MBW part. I have an antique "Paul" aka "Crazy Sale" crown from his Red Sub circa 13 years ago, gorgeous little piece, but it won't thread on that tube either. Looks like I'm gonna have to go gen!

Well it finally happened, after 13 years the crown threads finally gave up on my vintage MBW 1665. Yes, it's a sad day... a moment of silence please. Okay, now we have that out of the way, who has a crown and tube for me? And where is the tutorial for replacing that bad boy? Woo hooooooooooo, this is gonna be fun!!!

Welcome, Ektelon! Say, have you ever tried E-force racquets? I played Ektelon for years and my most recent is a change: the 175g "Lethal" by E-force. It's killer nice. WADS of power with precision too.

A man in Alaska wakes up one morning to find a bear on his roof, so he looks in the yellow pages and sure enough he find an ad for "Bear Removers." He calls the number, and the bear remover says he'll be over in 30 minutes. The bear remover arrives, and gets out of his van. He's got a ladder, a baseball bat, a shotgun, and a mean old pit bull. "What are you going to do," the homeowner asks? "I'm going to put this ladder up against the roof, then I'm going to go up there and knock the bear off the roof with this baseball bat. When the bear falls off, the pit bull is trained to grab him by the balls and not let go. The bear will then be subdued enough for me to put him in the bear cage in the back of the van.." Before climbing up the ladder, the guy hands the shotgun to the homeowner. "What's the shotgun for?" asks the homeowner. "If the bear knocks me off the roof, shoot the dog."